TeeTee: Small and Strong
March 23, 2018 | Track & Field, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Twanisha "Tee Tee" Terry decided to try out for track on a whim when she saw the team practicing on her way home from elementary school. "We all went out, me and a group of friends and we tried out for the team. I am the only one that stuck to it," said Terry. "When I first ran, my first year, I was just doing it to have something to do, but I just so happened to make it to the Junior Olympics."
Terry and her teammates broke the Junior Olympics age group record that year. "So, I just stuck to it from there."
When Terry started running track at the age of nine, her diminutive stature was her first hurdle, placing her at the bottom of the age group. But in middle school, the Miami-native embraced the challenge by taking on the biggest runner. "She was very tall and I was very short, but I didn't let that get to me," said Terry. "It was all about who finished first, so I didn't let that get to me when I lined up on the line. I didn't let her height scare me."
A track novice might assume that height, and therefore stride length, would have a massive impact, but Terry, who stands at 5-foot-5, explained that it is not as big of an advantage as one may think. "Most tall people don't know how to use their legs to stride. If you are tall and I am short, your three steps may be my six, so it is all about how you use your legs, but it is not that much of an advantage. It is all about the technique, who has the best technique," said Terry. "You can be tall with bad technique and I can be short with good technique and that will allow me to beat you. So it is all about technique."
"Tee Tee" will be one to watch as USC hosts the Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge this weekend. The freshman is expected to line up in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
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